New Delhi, July 20: Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister have sung paeans to Sharad Pawar as part of an effort to dissuade him from pulling out of the ministry but sources on both sides said the issues were too many and too complex to be resolved easily.

Pawarâ€™s discontent appears to stem from an assessment that the Congress has a tendency to grab all fruits of power, leaving little for its partners.

â€œThe Congress has no respect for proportionate power-sharing in a coalition. All governors, ambassadors, chairpersons of boards and commissions are appointed by them. We canâ€™t even get a bank director,â€ said a leader of the NCP, Pawarâ€™s party.

Although the Congress camp exuded confidence the stand-off would be resolved, NCP leaders insisted the issue could escalate into a crisis if the response was not adequate.

The three NCP ministers would withdraw, though the party would continue to support the UPA from outside, the leaders said. The NCP will meet on Monday at 3pm to take the final decision.

A communication from Pawar to the Prime Minister yesterday had raised several issues on the functioning of the coalition and expressed the desire to support the government from outside. Although this was not a formal resignation letter, the NCP wanted to send a message that it could withdraw its ministers. The NCP has nine Lok Sabha MPs.

Sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first entreated Pawar to attend the cabinet meeting and then met him later in the night to persuade him to withdraw the letter. Singh spoke of Pawarâ€™s â€œknowledge, wisdom and experienceâ€.

Sonia met Pawar today and unambiguously said there cannot be a UPA government without him.

But the most important signal came at the meeting of senior NCP leaders during the day where Pawar indicated his resolve to stay out of the government. A senior NCP leader told The Telegraph: â€œPawar saheb looked very upset and unusually firm. He said eight years are too long a time to remain in the government. Now we should concentrate on strengthening our party.â€

It was decided to consult senior party leaders from Maharashtra before taking the final decision.

Top sources revealed the trigger for Pawarâ€™s outburst came when a Congress leader informed him of the decision to make P.J. Kurien the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Pawar reportedly told the leader there was no need to convey this message if the decision had been taken without consultations.

The NCP had demanded that the post be given to an ally after the Congress had its way on candidates for President and Vice-President. The NCP had planned to propose the name of Tariq Anwar for the post.

New Delhi, July 20: Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister have sung paeans to Sharad Pawar as part of an effort to dissuade him from pulling out of the ministry but sources on both sides said the issues were too many and too complex to be resolved easily.

Pawarâ€™s discontent appears to stem from an assessment that the Congress has a tendency to grab all fruits of power, leaving little for its partners.

â€œThe Congress has no respect for proportionate power-sharing in a coalition. All governors, ambassadors, chairpersons of boards and commissions are appointed by them. We canâ€™t even get a bank director,â€ said a leader of the NCP, Pawarâ€™s party.

Although the Congress camp exuded confidence the stand-off would be resolved, NCP leaders insisted the issue could escalate into a crisis if the response was not adequate.

The three NCP ministers would withdraw, though the party would continue to support the UPA from outside, the leaders said. The NCP will meet on Monday at 3pm to take the final decision.

A communication from Pawar to the Prime Minister yesterday had raised several issues on the functioning of the coalition and expressed the desire to support the government from outside. Although this was not a formal resignation letter, the NCP wanted to send a message that it could withdraw its ministers. The NCP has nine Lok Sabha MPs.

Sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first entreated Pawar to attend the cabinet meeting and then met him later in the night to persuade him to withdraw the letter. Singh spoke of Pawarâ€™s â€œknowledge, wisdom and experienceâ€.

Sonia met Pawar today and unambiguously said there cannot be a UPA government without him.

But the most important signal came at the meeting of senior NCP leaders during the day where Pawar indicated his resolve to stay out of the government. A senior NCP leader told The Telegraph: â€œPawar saheb looked very upset and unusually firm. He said eight years are too long a time to remain in the government. Now we should concentrate on strengthening our party.â€

It was decided to consult senior party leaders from Maharashtra before taking the final decision.

Top sources revealed the trigger for Pawarâ€™s outburst came when a Congress leader informed him of the decision to make P.J. Kurien the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Pawar reportedly told the leader there was no need to convey this message if the decision had been taken without consultations.

The NCP had demanded that the post be given to an ally after the Congress had its way on candidates for President and Vice-President. The NCP had planned to propose the name of Tariq Anwar for the post.

New Delhi, July 20: Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister have sung paeans to Sharad Pawar as part of an effort to dissuade him from pulling out of the ministry but sources on both sides said the issues were too many and too complex to be resolved easily.

Pawarâ€™s discontent appears to stem from an assessment that the Congress has a tendency to grab all fruits of power, leaving little for its partners.

â€œThe Congress has no respect for proportionate power-sharing in a coalition. All governors, ambassadors, chairpersons of boards and commissions are appointed by them. We canâ€™t even get a bank director,â€ said a leader of the NCP, Pawarâ€™s party.

Although the Congress camp exuded confidence the stand-off would be resolved, NCP leaders insisted the issue could escalate into a crisis if the response was not adequate.

The three NCP ministers would withdraw, though the party would continue to support the UPA from outside, the leaders said. The NCP will meet on Monday at 3pm to take the final decision.

A communication from Pawar to the Prime Minister yesterday had raised several issues on the functioning of the coalition and expressed the desire to support the government from outside. Although this was not a formal resignation letter, the NCP wanted to send a message that it could withdraw its ministers. The NCP has nine Lok Sabha MPs.

Sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first entreated Pawar to attend the cabinet meeting and then met him later in the night to persuade him to withdraw the letter. Singh spoke of Pawarâ€™s â€œknowledge, wisdom and experienceâ€.

Sonia met Pawar today and unambiguously said there cannot be a UPA government without him.

But the most important signal came at the meeting of senior NCP leaders during the day where Pawar indicated his resolve to stay out of the government. A senior NCP leader told The Telegraph: â€œPawar saheb looked very upset and unusually firm. He said eight years are too long a time to remain in the government. Now we should concentrate on strengthening our party.â€

It was decided to consult senior party leaders from Maharashtra before taking the final decision.

Top sources revealed the trigger for Pawarâ€™s outburst came when a Congress leader informed him of the decision to make P.J. Kurien the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Pawar reportedly told the leader there was no need to convey this message if the decision had been taken without consultations.

The NCP had demanded that the post be given to an ally after the Congress had its way on candidates for President and Vice-President. The NCP had planned to propose the name of Tariq Anwar for the post.

New Delhi, July 20: Among the many complaints of Sharad Pawar, one that was articulated forcefully was an alleged attempt by a section of the Congress to undermine his stature.

â€œThey would say the NCP, with only nine MPs, is a small party. They forgot what Pawar brought to the UPA table,â€ his party and cabinet colleague Praful Patel said in public today.

That the â€œsmall-partyâ€ barb had touched a raw nerve was evident in a sarcastic reference in the letter Pawar sent to the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi.

â€œWe are a small party. So it doesnâ€™t confer stature or respectability. So we need to build up our party for the future. Therefore, we need to devote more time to build up our party,â€ Pawar wrote.

The Congress responded politely, with its chief spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi saying: â€œThe party sees Pawar as a senior and respected leader.â€

He added that those in the Congress top hierarchy, whose views matter, never intended to undermine Pawarâ€™s stature or disrespect him. The Prime Minister said in a statement given to PTI: â€œMr Sharad Pawar is a very valued colleague of mine whose knowledge, wisdom and experience are a great asset to our government.â€

But NCP leaders said such statements would not assuage Pawarâ€™s feelings as the Prime Minister had said nicer things to him yesterday.

The assertion prompted speculation if Pawar has drawn up a strategy to distance himself from the UPA and keep options open on joining the third front brigade. Patelâ€™s public critique of the government, too, made the Congress suspect such a plan.

Patel had said: â€œWe are entering the last two years before the next general election.â€¦ We feel that to that effect, the government must also be more decisive, more committed to issues that are before the people of the country.â€

Such utterances compelled some Congress leaders to fear that the crisis could be deeper than initially anticipated. But there was no dearth of leaders in the Congress who recalled Pawarâ€™s record of backing out or striking deals.

Another NCP leader expressed anger at the charge that Pawar was plotting to ensure his daughter Supriya Sule entered the cabinet when Rahul Gandhi was about to join it. â€œWhat is the problem in inducting Supriya? Agatha Sangma is anyway going to be removed from the ministry after what her father did. Supriya can be brought under the NCP quota. Where is the need to create a crisis for this?â€ this leader said.

NCP leaders rubbished the perception that Pawar was angry because he was denied the No. 2 slot in the cabinet after Pranab Mukherjeeâ€™s exit. â€œHe has been really upset because of so many things and we had decided to raise these issues publicly after the presidential election,â€ the NCP leader said.

Besides the denial of posts to his lieutenants, sources said, Pawar was already unhappy with Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. The talk of making Sushil Kumar Shinde the leader of the Lok Sabha also came as a rude shock to him. Shinde, who rose from humble origins in Sholapur to become a police constable, was brought into politics by Pawar.

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Maharashtra-related spats seem to be at the root of the latest showdown between the Congress and the NCP with the state outfit targeting chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for what its feels are a series of actions, including decisions related to graft allegations, which have hurt its interests.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar's discomfort with Chavan has grown with the CM not being as mindful of the Maratha strongman as his Congress predecessors. A white paper on irrigation projects following allegations of a scam involving NCP minister Sunil Tatkare further fuelled the feud.

The focus of the spat shifted firmly to Mumbai with NCP leaders attacking Chavan and demanding a coordination committee for state matters and Pawar's threat to withdraw from the Centre seem to indicate his resentment over being "belittled" by Congress on his home turf.

Cong feels Pawar using tiff to pressure govt for his demands

The Congress is not according NCP chief Sharad Pawar the deference he has come to expect, NCP leaders said, explaining the spat between the two parties. "In the past, CMs would make it a point to call on him and give him the respect due to a tall leader," sources said.

Congress sources read political overtones in the coordination panel pitch, saying meetings between Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan and deputy CM Ajit Pawar tend to be uneventful affairs and there was no significant build-up for the demand.

When asked about the CM's comment that his equations with state NCP leaders were good, heavy industries minster Praful Patel said, "Individuals were not discussed. We want effective coordination."

Chavan has pointedly distanced himself from the NCP on issues like inauguration of a refurbished Maharashtra Sadan in the wake of allegations that family members of public works development (PWD) minister Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior NCP leader, benefitted from inflated costs.

Congress sources feel Chavan can be more accommodative towards Pawar, but while this sore spot can be remedied, reining in inquiries into alleged irregularities by NCP ministers is another matter.

Reacting to the NCP's grouse, Congress leaders said shielding the partner after former BJP MP Kirit Somaiyya went public with allegations against Bhujbal and Tatkare was not possible.

Returning fire, Congress sources feel Pawar is shrewdly leveraging his unhappiness with the CM to pressure the Centre on demands ranging from a say in governorships, appointments to various boards, a ministerial perch for daughter Supriya while invoking the coalition mantra. He is also seen to be pitching for a say in Rajya Sabha nominations.

The Congress sees Pawar's actions as a signal for difficult allies like SP and TMC to keep the heat on the Centre as brinksmanship would be seen to pay off.

The NCP supremo is also believed to be concerned with the situation within his party, as nephew Ajit Pawar is consolidating his position and has demonstrated a certain clout with legislators. The political future of his daughter could also be occupying Pawar's thoughts.

Congress leaders in Delhi were hopeful that differences with the NCP will be resolved soon with the PM making it clear he valued Pawar's presence in the Cabinet and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi promising to examine coalition matters raised by the ally.